The Only One
by Kann1326
Summary: Haruka has known Naruto since they were very little. They were orphans together and know everything about one another. There are no secrets between them. No one even knew they where friends though. Until graduation that is. *Aging them up. They are around 14/15 during graduation.
1. Chapter One: Before Graduating

"Why is it that you never tell people that we're friends?" Haruka pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Naruto blew a breath out, sitting down on the ground beside her. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes. They had just started at the Academy earlier that year and Naruto knew the path he wanted to take. "You know I can't keep my mask up with you around, Haru. Besides, everyone hates me. I can't let you deal with that." He muttered, scratching his nose. Haruka closed her eyes, letting her arms fall to her side. "I know. I can't keep my mask up either. I don't care about everyone hating you though." She sighed, leaning against him.

"Let's make a promise." Naruto stated, leaning into her. "Once we both graduate, we will let our teams know. We will let everyone know. Until then, it's me and you. It's not like we will never see each other. You live right beside me." He smiled softly at her. She could feel his need to protect her radiating off of him. With a defeated sigh, Haruka nodded. "Fine, fine. You keep your mask, I'll keep mine." She grumbled, playfully nudging his shoulder with hers.

"As long as you're safe, Haruka."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days passed faster and faster. The two orphans that lived beside each other stayed separated during the day, but at night they were inseparable. They had grown up together, looked out for each other. It had always been just the two of them. Then they entered the academy, both for different reasons.

After a few weeks in the academy Naruto started hanging around Kiba Inuzuka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi. Haruka found out about her family, the Shiroshi clan. She finally had a last name. Haruka cried that night with Naruto by her side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto set the table as Haruka brought the food to the table. "You'll be graduating next week." He stated, talking about the upcoming exams. "And you won't be?" Haruka questioned, fixing their plates. "I have other plans." Naruto wouldn't meet her eyes. She just hummed, suspicious, as they sat to eat.

"You better graduate next year then." Haruka finally said after a while, trusting him explicitly. Naruto nodded, knowing her trust for him knew no bounds. "Try not to stand out to much." He demanded, even though he knew she wouldn't. She knew better. She knew what standing out meant.

"Don't worry Naru." She smiled softly, trying to ease his worry. They had seen to much far to soon. Naruto had a right to be worried. Haruka was aware of this, she couldn't help but try though. Naruto gave a half-hearted smile and the conversation dropped.

As they washed the dishes together, Haruka bumped her hip against Naruto, grabbing his attention. "Stay tonight?" She asked, knowing they both needed it. It had been a while since they had slept in the same bed together. Only a month but seems like years to them. "Of course Haru." He gave a lopsided grin as he dried the last dish. As he put it up, she got everything ready.

Haruka pulled on her pajamas as Naruto did the same, neither fazed by this, having been doing so for to long. As they climbed into Haruka's simple yet comfortable bed, Naruto burrowed into the many blankets Haruka always seems to have. He brought the blankets over their heads, cocooning them, and she snuggled into his embrace.

"Good night, my Queen." Naruto chuckled at his use of the nickname he sarcastically gave her all those years ago, pressing a kiss to her raven locks. Her deep blue eyes twinkled at him, finding humor in that name, pulling up the same memory as him. "Good night, boss." She snorted, her mouth quirking up in a smile at her nickname for him. He gave her an amused look, an eyebrow raised.

"Go to sleep Haru."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The week flew by. Before they knew it, it was the day before the graduation exams. Naruto was of course late, out causing trouble. Iruka-sensei wasn't there either, trying to drag Naruto back to class. Haruka sat patiently in her seat, head in her hand. She was sitting by the famed Sasuke Uchiha, and not by choice. She was there first after all. She could care less about the angsty boy.

"Could never understand why all these girls like him. He's so rude." Haruka thought, looking blankly ahead. Just as she finished her thought, Iruka-sensei burst through the door, dragging an unwilling Naruto into the classroom. Iruka started to lecture him, announcing everyone will be taking a quiz on the transformation jutsu over since he missed it.

Everyone breezed through it, but of course Naruto had to be difficult and pulled off a prank. As everyone settled down and went back to sleep, no one noticed the exchange between Naruto and Haruka. She pinched a code that they had made up years ago into the palm of his had as she walked by. It was her roughly asking if he was proud of himself. He gave a soft snort, smiling, and sat down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The graduation exam was a snap for Haruka. She did the minimum requirement and passed comfortably in the middle standing of class. As Naruto planned though, he failed. Also as he planned, another teacher approached him with a "secret way to graduate" and Naruto did as he instructed. Naruto learned of the nine-tailed beast inside of him that night. That was not the plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a series of knocks on Haruka's door. She knew exactly who it was. She opened the door in the early hours of the morning to a stressed Naruto who looked as if he'd been crying. He had been, terrified at how Haruka would take the news. Not telling her never crossed his mind. There was no secrets. Ever.

Without hesitation, Haruka ushered him into her apartment and immediately threw her arms around him. Naruto sunk into her embrace, crying. "Hush now Naru. I have you. It is all okay." Haruka soothed him. His sobs turned into quiet hiccups after a while. "I'm so sorry." He sniffed, burying his face into the crook of her neck.

"None of that. No need to be sorry." Haruka whispered, holding him tight. "I've found something out." Naruto started, unsure. "I'm listening." She waited for him to continue. "You know that nine-tailed demon fox that destroyed half the village and your clan?" Naruto asked. Haruka hummed affirmatively in response. "He's sealed inside of me." He whispered, flinching. He was terrified of her reaction.

"Is that all? My silly Naru. This only proves that the beast had nothing to do with my clan's slaughter." Haruka held him closer still, calming his fears. He knew of her suspicions but never slowed down to connect the dots. She was orphaned at two days old. She was a week older than Naruto. It wasn't possible.

Giving a weak laugh, Naruto pulled away. "I just give you this information and it's like you don't care." He gave a grin that was almost a sneer, hurt in thinking she didn't care about his situation. "Oh darling Naru. You misunderstand. I don't care that the beast is in you because it changes no aspects of how I feel for you. I care that this hurts you though. I would destroy worlds and universes for you. Don't forget that." Haruka pulled him back into a hug.

At her confession Naruto started to cry again, clutching Haruka to him as if she anchored him to this world. In fact, she did. He would be lost without her and vice versa. Naruto repeatedly mumbled "thank you" through his sobs, becoming harder to understand. She just held him until he calmed.

"Let's go get some ramen Naru."


	2. Chapter Two: Teaming Up

Sitting in the classroom, Haruka stared ahead, waiting for Naruto to arrive. Their time limit had been reached. They could publicly be friends once more. Slowly, one by one, everyone filed in. Naruto bounds in, automatically taking a seat by Haruka, tugging gently on her waist-length deep black hair and giving her a cheeky smile, he put his feet up on the desk.

She only tsked him and rolled her dark blue eyes, watching as Sakura and Ino barreled in, fighting over who would be sitting with Sasuke. The pair scoffed quietly at the two girls and tuned the world out, being content to finally sit near each other. They only pulled themselves from their world when teams were being assigned.

"Team seven is...Sakura Haruno.." Iruka-sensei started, "Naruto Uzumaki.." He was interrupted by Sakura's groans and protests. He waited for her to settle down, giving her a pointed look. "Sasuke Uchiha.." He continued, this time being interrupted by Sakura's cheers. Iruka-sensei cleared his throat, the girl going quiet once more. "And Haruka Shiroshi." He finished, Haruka and Naruto fist-bumping under the table. After the other teams were called, they were instructed to wait for their new Jounin sensei after a short lunch break to get to know their new teams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto and Haruka sat together in silence while eating, a companionable silence. They didn't need words to know what the other was thinking anymore. They watched as Sakura sat on a bench a bit away from them. Haruka turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Will you continue with your mask?" Was her unasked question. Naruto seemingly thought it over and gave a small nod. He slowly and carefully put his food away then bounded over to Sakura, seeming to overflow energy. Haruka simply shook her head and continued with her meal. Any trouble he got into now was his own doing. She refused to be responsible for it.

She cleaned the area after she finished and decided to go wait in the classroom. Naruto would find his way to her, he always did. After an hour or so he sulked in and sat beside her as the other seats started to fill. She offered up her palm were he pinched a message of what had transpired. He wasn't to terribly concerned with his transformation of Sasuke going south.

Haruka gave an amused snort as he finished, rolling her eyes. Of course he'd find a way to get into a predicament like that. Finally everyone had filed in and waited for their Jounin-Sensei. Slowly everyone left in their groups, leaving Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Haruka alone together to wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is going to be great!" Naruto exclaimed, setting up a blackboard eraser above the door so it would fall on the next person to enter. Haruka began to tune them out. She could only listen to Naruto and Sakura arguing for so long.

She heard the door opening and turned just in time to watch the eraser hit their Jounin-Sensei's head and then fall to the ground. It was quite for a breath and then Sakura began apologizing profusely. The man had spiked up silver hair and the standard Jounin uniform, his masked pulled over his left eye and a face mask. "My first impression? You're all idiots." The Jounin smiled and then told them to meet him on the roof.

Haruka lagged behind everyone at a leisurely pace, hands behind her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was Haruka's turn to introduce herself after not having paid attention to anyone else's. She blinked slowly, not really wanting to share anything about herself with the outsiders in the group. Naruto nudged her with his foot after a while, no one noticing.

"I am Haruka Shiroshi. I like strawberries and frogs." She started to blush and looked away. "I'm not fond of waiting or talking." Haruka continued, not happy with this situation and refusing to look at anyone. "My hobbies are baking and training." Thinking of her dreams for the future she sat up straighter and looked who she learned was Kakashi-Sensei in the eye. "My dream for the future is to be the future Anbu guard for the future Hokage." Haruka finished, leaving the meaning of her words hanging.

They all knew who she was referring to when she said future Hokage, surely. Kakashi-Sensei cleared his throat and put on a smile. "Good. You're all different." He started and explained that they would have a training exercise the next day.

As Sasuke and Sakura went their separate ways to go home, Naruto and Haruka stayed at the same pace and slowly walked home together. "Are you going to eat breakfast or skip like he said?" Haruka asked as they came upon their apart complex.

"Ah. I should probably skip." Naruto replied, leaning against the wall next to her door, waiting for her to open it. "So you're going to keep the mask up for as long as possible?" She sighed, pushing open the door after unlocking it. "Yeah. They'll underestimate me. We'll use it to our advantage." He nodded, immediately making himself at home and flopping onto her couch.

"That's true, I suppose." Haruka sat beside him, leaning into his side. "What's for dinner?" Naruto gave her a cheeky grin as his stomach gave off a loud rumble.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That was delicious Haru." Naruto praised the girl, helping her clear the dishes they just finished with. "Thank you Naru. I'm glad you enjoyed it." Haruka smiled at him, truly happy that he had enjoyed it. She loved to take care of him. He was her best friend after all.

After clearing the table and doing the dishes Naruto tugged at her long sleeves, a silent question in the air. "I changed the bandages this morning. I might need your help tomorrow before training though. I want to make sure they don't accidentally come loose." Haruka answered Naruto without him verbally asking. She was referring to the bandages covering her body from her ankles to her wrists to her neck.

It's why she wore black turtlenecks and long black leggings under her deep blue skirts. She couldn't let anyone else know her secret. Not just yet. "I'll be over at four." Naruto stated, happy to help. They always helped each other. They always had, they always will.

Haruka nodded, letting him know she understood. "We should probably get some sleep then." She pointed out and then walked him to his door. "Have a good sleep Haruka. If you need me come get me." Naruto said, as he does every time they spend the night apart. "I know." She smiled at him as he opened his door.

"Good night Queen." "Goodnight boss."


	3. Chapter Three: Bells

"There. Perfectly wrapped." Naruto patted Haruka's shoulder and left for her to change. She put on her typical outfit and put her shinobi band around her neck ontop of her turtleneck. She made sure her bangs were in place to hide her forehead and met Naruto back in the livingroom.

"Let's go." Haruka ruffled his hair and walked out the door. "Let me get there ahead of you." Naruto caught up to her easily. "We're still doing this?" She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. He gave a quick nod. "Fine." She relented with a sigh, letting him get ahead of her. "I'll make it up to you later Haru! Promise!" He flashed a smile her way as he passed her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haruka arrived a little after Naruto, twirling a wildflower absentmindedly in her hand that she stopped to pick so he'd have more time ahead of her. Sakura was waiting too, doing her hardest to ignore Naruto, both of them standing. Haruka sat by his feet, inspecting the small white flower. She had a feeling they'd be here for a while.

Sasuke was last to arrive, acknowledging no one and standing slightly away from the group. After a while more Naruto sat and got comfortable, leaning against Haruka. They ignored the glances the other two shot their way. Everyone eventually sat down.

Finally a bit before noon Kakashi-Sensei appeared, sending Sakura and Naruto into a frenzy, angry at him for being late. With a sigh, Haruka pushed herself up to her feet and watched the two grumble and complain.

She tuned everyone out again, a bad habit really, until Kakashi-Sensei told them to come at him with intent to kill. Naruto pinched the instructions into Haruka's palm quickly and she was off to hide and let him do as he planned. After he failed, Haruka met up with him, wanting to do her own plan.

"We should work together Naru." Haruka stated, crouching beside him as Sakura's screams rang through the air. Naruto shot her a questioning look. "We need to pass to advance. We're stronger together." The determination in her voice was strong. "We should try to get the others to help then too." He pointed out. "You try Sakura and I try Sasuke?" Haruka proposed and Naruto nodded in affirmation.

They separated and quickly went to there perspective targets. When Haruka found Sasuke he was buried in the dirt from his neck down. "Huh." Haruka let her amusement show as she crouched by him. "You need some help?" She tilted her head, eyeing him. "Hn." Sasuke turned his face away from her, cheeks turning pink.

"Team up with us." Her voice demanding. "No." Was his simple statement and she got up to walk away. "You're really leaving me like this?" Sasuke grunted as she started to leave. "You rejected my offer. You're of no use to me. Why should I help?" Haruka asked, her face unreadable. When he stayed silent she walked off, not before subtly doing some hand signs and stomping her foot, sending Sasuke flying out of the ground and landing ungracefully with a thud on his face.

She was gone before he could process what happened. Haruka was beside Naruto in no time. "No Sakura either?" She sighed, noticing the absence of the pink haired girl. "It'll be fine. We tried. We can do this. We work good together." Naruto gave her a soft smile. She only snorted, not disagreeing with him, but amused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They watched him from the shadows and gave each other a look. With a silent nod, they jumped in separate directions, doing as planned. Naruto stepped out in front of Kakashi-Sensei, challenging him, acting brash as expected. While they engaged in a fight again, Haruka waited for her cue.

Naruto scratched the right side of his nose, prompting Haruka to jump from the trees, trying to land on Kakashi-Sensei. Kakashi-Sensei's eyes grew wide, not expecting Haruka to participate. He moved quickly, dodging her attack and rounded on the two who now stood side by side, in position to try again.

Haruka's muscles tensed as she got ready to strike. Naruto summoned a few shadow clones beside her as she seemingly disappeared into the trees while Kakashi-Sensei's eyes where on him. While they fought, she quickly and quietly went around behind Kakashi-Sensei's back, getting ready again. She decided to come from low this time. She sprang out from behind him, tackling his knees, sending him sprawling forward but Kakashi-Sensei was up in no time, in a defensive stance, ready to fight again.

Before Kakashi-Sensei had time to think about it, the duo had disappeared into the trees, leaving the Jounin reaching for where the bells were hung from his hip. He gave nothing away as he felt one was missing. He hadn't expected them to team up or to use such basic attacks. Kakashi-Sensei let himself smile softly before going elsewhere himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haruka and Naruto sat at the base of the middle of the three poles that were by the memorial stone, waiting for the others. The timer went off and the others slowly showed up, Kakashi-Sensei being last. Naruto held up the bell and began to boast as Haruka rolled her eyes. "Yes. Haruka surprised me when she got the bell from me." Kakashi-Sensei gave a smile, surprising Sakura and Sasuke with his statement.

Haruka ignored the looks she got, seeing as how it wasn't to impressive to her. "Everyone but Haruka failed." Kakashi-Sensei stated, ignoring the complaints of the others. "I'm feeling a bit generous and you can have a second chance. I'll be back. You all can eat now. Everyone but Naruto that is." Kakashi-Sensei smiled as said blond protested. "It's punishment for trying to take credit for someone else's work. No one feed him." And he was gone.

They all sat down to eat, Naruto looking forlornly at Haruka, who only silently handed him chopsticks to share her bento. Sakura and Sasuke gave them looks again. "Didn't Kakashi-Sensei say not to feed him?" Sakura asked, glaring at the boy.

"He's feeding himself." Haruka pointed to his chopsticks with a smile. "Loopholes!" Naruto sang, happily munching on some chicken. A moment later the sound of thunder filled the air as an angry looking Kakashi-Sensei appeared in front of them out of nowhere.

"I gave you orders not to feed him. Why did you disobey orders?" He demanded in a booming voice, clouds covering the sky. Sakura cowered behind Sasuke who gave her a disgruntled look. Naruto and Haruka shared a look and shrugged, unbothered by his display.

"We're a team. Plus he needs his energy." Haruka shrugged. "She's right." Sasuke stated, much to the surprise of the others. "Y-yeah!" Sakura stuttered from behind Sasuke. "You all really feel that way?" Kakashi-Sensei questioned, eyeing them. They all gave him a determined nod.

The sky cleared and Kakashi-Sensei smiled. "You all pass." He happily announced. Sakura sighed in relief but no one else made a sound. "Training starts bright and early in the morning. Don't be late!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We did good today." Naruto smiled gently at Haruka as she put the dishes away from washing them after their meal. "Could have done better." She stated with a shrug, knowing that they did the right thing by not showing off. "Yeah, yeah. It's for the best." He waved her off, sprawling himself across her couch and listening to her work from her livingroom.

"I'm not sure I like him." Haruka sighed, putting the last dish away. "He's decent so far." Naruto gave his opinion, shifting so she could sit beside him. "He better train us right." Her words seemed to hold a threat in them. Naruto gave out a barking laugh and ruffled her hair

"All will be fine Haru." He smiled at her, amused by the pout on her face from his laughter. "You better be right Naru."


End file.
